End of Season Shoutouts
We wrapped up the regular season with two sensational rivalries this weekend. Recaps from the Territorial Cup and the Civil War will be up in the next few days to power you through the week after Thanksgiving blues and get you pumped for the Pac-12 Championship Game, but wanted to highlight a few instant takeaways following this epic trip to each Pac-12 hometown:
Reports of the Death of the Student Section have been Greatly Exaggerated - From the Under Armour suited MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section) in Salt Lake City to the First Down-chopping Beaver Dam in Corvallis, student sections went 12-for-12 in packing their sections and being loud, attentive, and creative. Perhaps it's the peer pressure to have an Instagram post proving attendance or the intrigue of gameday Snapchat filters, but if you see another one of those "Students Don't Care About Football Anymore" news articles after this season, it'll either be one of those "fake news" stories we've been hearing so much about lately or written by an author who never made it to the Pac-12 this season. After all the reports of declining student attendance, I was completely blown away by student turnout and participation at every stop along the way.
The Women of the Pac-12 - I’ve now seen all 12 dance teams and I can gladly inform you that there is nary a dancer in the Pac-12 that will not make your jaw drop. This is a greatly underplayed storyline when discussing why it is the Pac-12 is so dominant over the Big Ten and Big XII in non-conference matchups (and in general).
All Games Matter - That’s the beauty of college football. Your NFL team loses to a division rival in Week 5 - who cares? You can make up for that loss later on, in fact, you can lose ¼ of your games and be guaranteed a playoff spot. Your college football team loses to a division rival in Week 5 and you better sound the panic alarm because a second loss means you might as well just start planning for next season.
Rivalry Games Matter Even More - Arizona went 3-9 this season. Arizona State went 5-7. Wildcat fans will have a much better offseason than Sun Devil fans though. While Arizona just finished off their worst football season of the decade, they finished it off by trouncing their in-state rival. Now their coach, Rich Rodriguez (Rich Rod), who spent most of the season on a searing hot seat, is headed off to recruit local athletes with a suddenly secure coach’s seat and the momentum that comes from showing up with the Territorial Cup in hand. College football is the only sport in the world where 3-9 can feel a whole lot better than 5-7 and that’s a beautiful thing.
The Best Thing I Ate at a Tailgate - Bacon-wrapped duck in Pullman. Not even a close second.
The Best Thing I Ate in a Stadium - The Cougar Gold filled sausages with grilled onions at Martin Stadium. Again, not even a close second. They chop off your portion of the link and stack of toasted onion toppers fresh off the grill in front of you. Who would have ever thought that Pullman, Washington would be the culinary capital of Pac-12 gamedays?
Some Love for the Band Kids - I have never paid any attention to any marching band. Ever. But after witnessing how long a day these band kids put in at each and every school, I have a completely newfound respect for the commitment band kids put into playing their part on gameday. They are out there early running through their rehearsals and trudging their instruments from parking lot to parking lot to entertain the waiting masses, then announcing their team into battle on The Walk to the stadium, performing before the game and at halftime, attentively playing throughout the game, and sending fans off into the night with a final playing of the alma mater. That’s one long ass day, and unless you’re part of the Stanford band, you’re doing all of this without the fuel of Fireball in your veins (which was unquestionably the gameday alcohol du jour for students this season).
Mascot Rankings (real-life mascots to be separately evaluated):
1. The Duck
2. Butch T. Cougar
3. Benny Beaver
4. The Tree
5. The Utah Owl
6. Everyone Else
Pac-12 Fans with the Best Sense of Humor - Both Arizona schools, especially ASU. Don’t get me wrong, everyone in this conference wants to win. Fans of every school are completely convinced that their team is destined to one day reign supreme, but these Arizona fans welcome football season for what it offers and whether the season ends in the Rose Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (a real thing), or no bowl at all, that isn’t going to stop them from enjoying some fall Saturdays beating the desert heat by sharing stories, grilling meats, and downing ice cold concoctions with friends and similarly dressed strangers.
Pac-12 Fans with the Least Sense of Humor - USC and Wazzu. Apparently, the teams with the most and least successful histories don’t appreciate when fun is poked at their well-known historical shortcomings. Not much unites these two programs, but glad we could finally bring them together.
Home Field Advantage - Home teams went 11-1 when I was in the building scoping out their gameday. The only school that I was unable to assist in bringing home a victory? My very own Bruins.
We'll have a full wrap of the journey after the Championship Game - which is undoubtedly the best championship game in the history of the PAC-12 Championship Game - but had to give a few shoutouts before ramping up for Championship Week.
